About a Boy is Nick Hornby's comic and heart-warming million-copy bestseller 'How cool was Will Freeman?' Too cool! At thirty-six, he's as hip as a teenager. He's single, child-free, goes to the right clubs and knows which trainers to wear. He's also found a great way to score with women: attend single parents' groups full of available (and grateful) mothers, all hoping to meet a Nice Guy. Which is how Will meets Marcus, the oldest twelve-year-old on the planet. Marcus is a bit strange: he listens to Joni Mitchell and Mozart, looks after his mum and has never owned a pair of trainers. But Marcus latches on to Will - and won't let go. Can Will teach Marcus how to grow up cool? And can Marcus help Will just to grow up? This astonishing novel, now a modern classic, was adapted for the acclaimed 2002 film About A Boy, starring Hugh Grant and Nicholas Hoult. Fans of One Day by David Nicholls and Any Human Heart by William Boyd will devour this book, as will lovers of fiction everywhere. 'A stunner of a novel. Utterly read-in-one-day, forget-where-you-are-on-the-tube-gripping' Marie Claire 'About the awful, hilarious, embarrassing places where children and adults meet, and Hornby has captured it with delightful precision' Irish Times 'It takes a writer with real talent to make this work, and Hornby has it - in buckets' Literary Review

When you're 36, going on 18, life is about being hip, being cool, and embracing all that Mothercare has to offer ...

Nick Hornby's best-selling novel is now a major new film starring Hugh Grant from the makers of Four Weddings & A Funeral, Notting Hill and Bridget Jones's Diary. On nationwide release from 26th April 2002.

Starring:
Hugh Grant (Bridget Jones's Diary)
Toni Collette (Muriel's Wedding)
Rachel Weisz (The Mummy Returns)

and Introducing
Nicholas Hoult as Marcus

Written & Directed By Chris and Paul Weitz

Produced By Eric Fellner, Tim Bevan and Robert de Niro

'There was this time when everything seemed to have come together. And so obviously it was time to go and screw it all up.' Sam is sixteen and a skater. Just so there are no terrible misunderstandings: skating = skateboarding. There's no ice. Life is ticking along nicely for Sam: his mum's got rid of her rubbish boyfriend, he's thinking about college and he's met someone. Alicia. Then a little accident happens. One with big consequences for someone just finding his way in life. Sam can't run (let alone skate) away from this one. He's a boy facing a man's problems and the question is - has he got what it takes to confront them?

THE MILLION COPY NO. 1 BESTSELLER THAT BECAME AN ACCLAIMED FILM STARRING HUGH GRANT AND NICOLAS HOULT 'A very entertaining and endearing read' The Times ___________________ Thirty-six-year-old Londoner Will loves his life. Living carefree off the royalties of his dad's Christmas song, he's rich, unattached and has zero responsibilities - just the way he likes it. But when Will meets Marcus, an awkward twelve-year-old who listens to Joni Mitchell and accidentally kills ducks with loaves of bread, an unlikely friendship starts to bloom. Can this odd duo teach each another how to finally act their age? Hugely funny and equally heartfelt, Nick Hornby's classic proves you're never too old to grow up. Perfect for fans of David Nicholls and Mike Gayle. ___________________ 'A stunner of a novel. Utterly read-in-one-day, forget-where-you-are-on-the-tube-gripping' Marie Claire 'About the awful, hilarious, embarrassing places where children and adults meet, and Hornby has captured it with delightful precision' Irish Times 'It takes a writer with real talent to make this work, and Hornby has it - in buckets' Literary Review

'A charming - and sharp - love story about what it means to fall for someone who is your polar opposite' Sunday Telegraph _______________________________________________________ Lucy married just the sort of man you might expect: a university graduate who runs his own business. Unfortunately he turned out to have serious dependency issues. Joseph is shaking off the memory of his last date, a girl who ticked all the right boxes and also drove him up the wall. On an average Saturday morning in a butcher's shop in North London, Lucy and Joseph meet on opposite sides of the counter. She is a teacher and mother of two, with a past she is trying to forget; he is an aspiring DJ with a wide-open future that maybe needs to start becoming more focused. Lucy and Joseph are opposites in almost all ways. Can something life-changing grow from uncommon ground? Nick Hornby's brilliantly observed, tender and brutally funny new novel gets to the heart of what it means to fall headlong in love with the best possible person - someone who may not be just like you at all. _____________________________________________ 'Truly funny . . . immensely readable, sharp-eyed and at times hilarious' Guardian 'Comedy for our times' Sunday Times 'Sparkles with tip-top dialogue and pin-sharp comic timing' Daily Mail

Stuff I've Been Reading by Nick Hornby - the bestselling novelist's rich, witty and inspiring reading diary 'Read what you enjoy, not what bores you,' Nick Hornby tells us. And in this new collection of his columns from the Believer magazine he shows us how it's done. From historical tomes to comic books, literary novels to children's stories, political thrillers to travel writing, Stuff I've Been Reading details Nick's thoughts and experiences on books by George Orwell, J.M. Barrie, Muriel Spark, Claire Tomalin, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Jennifer Egan, Ian McEwan, Cormac McCarthy and many, many more. This wonderfully entertaining journey in reading differs from all other reviews or critical appreciations - it takes into account the role that books actually play in our lives. This book, which is classic Hornby, confirms the novelist's status as one of the world's most exciting curators of culture. It will be loved by fans of About a Boy and High Fidelity, as well as readers of Will Self, Zadie Smith, Stewart Lee and Charlie Brooker.

THE MILLION-COPY NO.1 BESTSELLER 'Enormously powerful' Guardian 'Hilarious, sophisticated, compulsive' The Times ___________________ 'I am in a car park in Leeds when I tell my husband I don't want to be married to him any more. . . ' London GP Katie Carr always thought she was a good person. With her husband David making a living as 'The Angriest Man in Holloway', she figured she could put up with anything. Until, that is, David meets DJ Goodnews and becomes a good person too. A far-too-good person who starts committing crimes of charity like taking in the homeless and giving their kids' toys away. Suddenly Katie's feeling very bad about herself, and thinking that if charity begins at home, then maybe it's time to move. . . This laugh-out-loud novel, from the bestselling author of About a Boy and High Fidelity, will have you gripped from start to finish and will appeal to fans of David Nicholls and Jonathan Coe, as well as readers in need of a moral compass everywhere. ___________________ 'Pins you in your armchair and won't let go . . . How to be Good? How to be bloody marvellous, more like' Mail on Sunday 'It does exactly what it says on the cover. Hornby's prose is artful and effortless, his spiky wit as razored as a number-two cut' Independent 'The writing is so funny, and the set-pieces so brilliant . . . Hornby's best book since Fever Pitch' Lynn Truss, The Times

Nick Hornby has been a soccer fan since the moment he was conceived. Fever Pitch is his tribute to a lifelong obsession. Part autobiography, part comedy, part incisive analysis of insanity, Hornby's award-winning memoir captures the fever pitch of fandom—its agony and ecstasy, its community, its defining role in thousands of young men's coming of age stories. Fever Pitch is one for the home team. But above all, it is one for everyone who knows what it really means to have a losing season.

A famous account of growing up to be a fanatical football supporter. Told through a series of match reports, FEVER PITCH has enjoyed enormous critical and commercial success since it was first published in 1992. It has helped to create a new kind ofsports writing, and established Hornby as one of the finest writers of his generation.

Now a major motion picture from Touchstone Pictures.

Rob is a pop music junkie who runs his own semi-failing record store. His girlfriend, Laura, has just left him for the guy upstairs, and Rob is both miserable and relieved. After all, could he have spent his life with someone who has a bad record collection? Rob seeks refuge in the company of the offbeat clerks at his store, who endlessly review their top five films (Reservoir Dogs...); top five Elvis Costello songs ("Alison..".); top five episodes of Cheers (the one where Woody sang his stupid song to Kelly...). Rob tries dating a singer whose rendition of "Baby, I Love Your Way" makes him cry. But maybe it's just that he's always wanted to sleep with someone who has a record contract. Then he sees Laura again. And Rob begins to think (awful as it sounds) that life as an episode of thirtysomething, with all the kids and marriages and barbecues and k.d. lang CD's that this implies, might not be so bad.

THE MILLION-COPY INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER & SOURCE OF THE 2020 HULU SERIES 'One of my favourite novels' Zoe Kravitz in Vulture ________________ Do you know your desert-island, all-time, top five most memorable break-ups? Rob does. But Laura isn't on it - even though she's just become his latest ex. Finding he can't get over Laura, record-store owner Rob decides to revisit his relationship top hits to figure out what went wrong. But soon, he's asking himself some big questions: about relationships, about life and about his own self-destructive tendencies. Astutely observed and wickedly funny, Nick Hornby's cult classic explores love, loss and the need for a good playlist. A must for readers of David Nicholls and music geeks everywhere! ________________ 'A triumphant first novel. True to life, very funny and moving' Financial Times 'Extremely cleverly observed' Mail on Sunday 'If this book was a record, we would be calling it an instant classic. Because that's what it is' Guardian 'Leaves you believing not only in the redemptive power of music but above all the redemptive power of love. Funny and wise, sweet and true' Independent

Nick Hornby's internationally bestselling first novel, available as a Penguin Essential for the first time. Do you know your desert-island, all-time, top five most memorable split-ups? Rob does. He keeps a list, in fact. But Laura isn't on it - even though she's just become his latest ex. He's got his life back, you see. He can just do what he wants when he wants: like listen to whatever music he likes, look up the girls that are on his list, and generally behave as if Laura never mattered. But Rob finds he can't move on. He's stuck in a really deep groove - and it's called Laura. Soon, he's asking himself some big questions: about love, about life - and about why we choose to share ours with the people we do. A million-copy bestseller, and adapted into a 2000 film starring John Cusack, High Fidelity explores the world of break-ups, make-ups and what it is to be in love. This astutely observed and wickedly funny book will be enjoyed by readers of David Nicholls and William Boyd, and by generations of readers to come. 'It will give enormous pleasure at the same time as expanding in a small but worthwhile way, the range of English literature' Independent on Sunday 'Leaves you believing not only in the redemptive power of music but above all the redemptive power of love. Funny and wise, sweet and true' Independent 'A triumphant first novel. True to life, very funny and moving' Financial Times

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER SOON TO BE A TV SERIES STARRING GEMMA ARTERTON AND RUPERT EVERETT 'Simply unputdownable' Guardian 'Hilarious' Daily Telegraph 'Highly entertaining' Sunday Times _________________ Make them laugh, and they're yours forever . . . Barbara Parker is Miss Blackpool of 1964, but she doesn't want to be a beauty queen. She wants to make people laugh. So she leaves her hometown behind, takes herself to London, and overnight she becomes the lead in a new BBC comedy, Sophie Straw: charming, gorgeous, destined to win the nation's hearts. Funny Girl is the story of a smash-hit TV show and the people behind the scenes. But when life starts imitating art, they all face a choice. How long can they keep going before it's time to change the channel? ______________ 'Warm, funny, touching . . . winningly perceptive about human relationships and changing social trends' Daily Telegraph 'Like all Hornby's best work, it is both hugely enjoyable and deceptively artful' Spectator 'A beguiling, thoroughly enjoyable read' Sunday Times 'Hugely enjoyable' Sunday Mirror 'Resolutely, winningly light-hearted' Observer 'Hornby's sunniest novel' Metro

'Extremely funny . . . and wise' Sunday Times NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE __________________________ 'Can I explain why I wanted to jump off the top of a tower block?' For disgraced TV presenter Martin Sharp the answer's pretty simple: he has, in his own words, 'pissed his life away'. And on New Year's Eve he's going to end it all . . . but not, as it happens, alone. Because first single-mum Maureen, then eighteen-year-old Jess and lastly American rock-god JJ turn up and crash Martin's private party. They've stolen his idea - but brought their own reasons. Yet it's hard to jump when you've got an audience queuing impatiently behind you. A few heated words and some slices if cold pizza later and these four strangers are suddenly allies. But is their unlikely friendship a good enough reason to carry on living? Shortlisted for the 2005 Whitbread Award and the Commonwealth Writers Prize, A Long Way Down is a darkly hilarious and moving novel by bestselling author Nick Hornby. __________________________ 'Hornby's best yet' Literary Review 'Impossible to put down' Ruth Rendell, Guardian 'Some of the finest writing I've ever had the pleasure of reading' Johnny Depp

The Twentieth Anniversary Edition *WINNER OF THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR* Fever Pitch is Nick Hornby's million-copy-selling, award-winnning football classic 'A spanking 7-0 away win of a football book. . . inventive, honest, funny, heroic, charming' Independent For many people watching football is mere entertainment, to some it's more like a ritual; but to others, its highs and lows provide a narrative to life itself. But, for Nick Hornby, his devotion to the game has provided one of few constants in a life where the meaningful things - like growing up, leaving home and forming relationships, both parental and romantic - have rarely been as simple or as uncomplicated as his love for Arsenal. 'Hornby has put his finger on truths that have been unspoken for generations' Irish Times Brimming with wit and honesty, Fever Pitch, catches perfectly what it really means to be a football fan - and in doing so, what it means to be a man. It sits side by side with the very finest football classics of the last twenty five years, from The Damned United by David Peace to A Life Too Short by Ronald Reng, but it is ultimately a book that defies categorization and can be enjoyed by all. 'Funny, wise and true' Roddy Doyle

*WINNER OF THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR* Fever Pitch is Nick Hornby's million-copy-selling, award-winnning football classic 'A spanking 7-0 away win of a football book. . . inventive, honest, funny, heroic, charming' Independent For many people watching football is mere entertainment, to some it's more like a ritual; but to others, its highs and lows provide a narrative to life itself. But, for Nick Hornby, his devotion to the game has provided one of few constants in a life where the meaningful things - like growing up, leaving home and forming relationships, both parental and romantic - have rarely been as simple or as uncomplicated as his love for Arsenal. Brimming with wit and honesty, Fever Pitch, catches perfectly what it really means to be a football fan - and in doing so, what it means to be a man. 'Hornby has put his finger on truths that have been unspoken for generations' Irish Times 'Funny, wise and true' Roddy Doyle

Zygotes and Confessions is a publication devoted to the work of London-based artist Nick Hornby, and has been produced to accompany his first solo exhibition in a public gallery. The exhibition, which shares its title with the publication, is presented at MOSTYN, Wales, UK, from November 2020 to April 2021. Hornby is known for his monumental site-specific works that combine digital software with traditional materials such as bronze, steel, granite and marble. In this publication he presents a substantial new body of smaller, more intimate work comprising three discrete yet interrelated series of works inspired by the history of sculptural busts, modernist abstractions and mantelpiece ceramic dogs. United by glossy photographic surfaces created by means of an industrial process in which his marble and resin composite sculptures are dipped into liquid photographs, these new works explore themes of portraiture, the body, identity, sexuality and intimacy in the digital era. A number of the works have been made in collaboration with fashion photographer Louie Banks. Along with a foreword by Helen Boyd, Head of Marketing and Publisher Relations at the Casemate Group, the publication features a text by MOSTYN director Alfredo Cramerotti and an essay by London-based publisher, editor and writer Matt Price. Price writes: "With one eye on the sculpture of the past and the other on that of tomorrow, technology is at the heart of London-based Nick Hornby's practice and is central to the production of his often imposing, mind-bending and futuristic-looking sculptures. Using materials such as bronze and marble, his work points back towards the Renaissance or the nineteenth century, yet his use of resin and digital technology positions him very much in the present, exploring languages both figurative and abstract, often simultaneously." The texts are presented in both English and Welsh. Newly commissioned studio photography of the works by Ben Westoby, along with installation views of the exhibition commissioned by MOSTYN from Mark Blower, illustrate the publication, which has been designed by Joe Gilmore / Qubik. The publication is co-published by MOSTYN, Wales, UK, and Anomie Publishing, London, and distributed internationally by Casemate Art, a division of the Casemate Group. Nick Hornby (b.1980) is a British artist living and working in London. Hornby studied at the Slade School of Art and Chelsea College of Art. His work has been exhibited at Tate Britain, Southbank Centre London, Leighton House London, CASS Sculpture Foundation, Glyndebourne, Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge, Museum of Arts and Design New York, and Poznan Biennale, Poland. Residencies include Outset (Israel) and Eyebeam (USA), and awards include the UAL Sculpture Prize. His work has been reviewed in the New York Times, frieze, Artforum, The Art Newspaper, The FT, and featured in Architectural Digest and Sculpture Magazine.

Now in paperback-"The New York Times" bestselling novel of rock 'n roll, super fandom, and love, by the beloved author of "About a Boy" and "High Fidelity."
Nick Hornby returns to his roots-music and messy relationships-in this funny and touching new novel which thoughtfully and sympathetically looks at how lives can be wasted but how they are never beyond redemption. Annie lives in a dull town on England's bleak east coast and is in a relationship with Duncan which mirrors the place; Tucker was once a brilliant songwriter and performer, who's gone into seclusion in rural America-or at least that's what his fans think. Duncan is obsessed with Tucker's work, to the point of derangement, and when Annie dares to go public on her dislike of his latest album, there are quite unexpected, life-changing consequences for all three.
Nick Hornby uses this intriguing canvas to explore why it is we so often let the early promise of relationships, ambition and indeed life evaporate. And he comes to some surprisingly optimistic conclusions about the struggle to live up to one's promise.

Reese Witherspoon stars in this Academy Award-nominated drama based on the true story of Cheryl Strayed, the woman who embarked on a 1,100-mile solo hike along the Pacific Crest Trail in a journey of self-discovery. After the tragic death of her mother and with an impending divorce on the table, Cheryl (Witherspoon) decides to try to find out who she really is and why she insists on abusing her life with men, drugs and bad decisions. Along the way she discovers more about herself than she ever could have imagined. The cast also includes Gaby Hoffmann, Laura Dern and Kevin Rankin.

*THE SIDE-SPLITTING NEW COMIC SHORT FROM ONE OF BRITAIN'S BEST-LOVED WRITERS, NOW A MAJOR BBC TV SERIES* ______________________________ 'It is as honest and multi-faceted an examination and appreciation of marriage as you could hope to find' The Guardian on Hornby's script adaptation Each week, Tom and Louise meet for a quick drink in the pub before they go to meet their marriage counsellor. Married for years and with two children, a recent incident has exposed the fault lines in their relationship in a way that Tom, for one, does not wish to think about. In the ten minutes in the pub they talk about the agenda for the session, what they talked about last week, what they will definitely not talk about with the counsellor, and how much better off they are than the couple whose counselling slot immediately precedes their own. Over the ten weeks that follow Tom and Louise begin to wonder: what if marriage is like a computer? When you take it apart to see how it works you might just be left with a million pieces you can't put back together . . .

'Extremely funny . . . and wise' Sunday Times NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE __________________________ 'Can I explain why I wanted to jump off the top of a tower block?' For disgraced TV presenter Martin Sharp the answer's pretty simple: he has, in his own words, 'pissed his life away'. And on New Year's Eve he's going to end it all . . . but not, as it happens, alone. Because first single-mum Maureen, then eighteen-year-old Jess and lastly American rock-god JJ turn up and crash Martin's private party. They've stolen his idea - but brought their own reasons. Yet it's hard to jump when you've got an audience queuing impatiently behind you. A few heated words and some slices if cold pizza later and these four strangers are suddenly allies. But is their unlikely friendship a good enough reason to carry on living? Shortlisted for the 2005 Whitbread Award and the Commonwealth Writers Prize, A Long Way Down is a darkly hilarious and moving novel by bestselling author Nick Hornby. __________________________ 'Hornby's best yet' Literary Review 'Impossible to put down' Ruth Rendell, Guardian 'Some of the finest writing I've ever had the pleasure of reading' Johnny Depp

THE HILARIOUS COMING-OF-AGE NOVEL FROM THE INTERNATIONALLY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF ABOUT A BOY 'Touching, very funny' Guardian __________________ 'There was this time when everything seemed to have come together. And so obviously it was time to go and screw it all up.' Sam is sixteen and a skater. Just so there are no terrible misunderstandings: skating = skateboarding. There's no ice. Life is ticking along nicely for Sam; his Mum's got rid of her rubbish boyfriend, he's thinking about college and he's met someone. Alicia. Then a little accident happens. One with big consequences for someone just finding his way in life. Sam can't run (let alone skate) away from this one. He's a boy facing a man's problems and the question is - has he got what it takes to confront them? Slam is a novel about a boy who has to grow up in big, big hurry. It is The Catcher in the Rye for the 21st century. ______________ 'Very funny...very real' Daily Telegraph 'Hornby gets his point across with the subtlety and skill of a born novelist who always deserves to be read' Independent 'A moving read for anyone' Elle